, 1887-08-20
AT H STAKE.

i came west when l was II years OF
age (said old Sol Taylor, of Georgetown,
Col, the other day., and now I'm a bit
over 80. You can figger that up and see
how long I've been skirmishing with In
dams, grizzlies, panthers, rattlesnakes
and h cSher pesky varmints of noun
tain, plain and prairie. There hasn't
been q n Indian war for the last half CEN
fury that l haven't had a hand in, and 1
reckon I've had as many stand up fights
IN my own hook as any scout or hunter
you can name. 1 have been captured
and put to the torture twice, and been
captured and got away without torture
three or -four times. In times of peace 1
have lived with the Pawnees, Kiowas,
A~paches, Sioux, Cheyennes and Black
feet, and in times of war / rave fought
all these tribes. Mebbe l am, therefore,
a purity good judge of Indian natur', and
when you ask me which tribe of redskins
has the most homer, 1 reply that l never
yet saw IN Indian that / would trust a
rod. The only reason that some of 'em
have served the government as scouts
and traitors is because they happened to
hate their own kind just then a little
wuss than they did the white man.
However, you van some of my own adj
ventures, and l will give you one.
Before the days of railroads in the west
a man who was spilin' for an Indian fight
could get it within rifle shot of Fort
Kearney, and this state of affairs contin-
ued up to 1865 and later. The last time
/ was captured was on the Smoky Hill
fork of the Kansas river, and it was while
the railroad was being pushed across the
state of Kansas. A railroad through the
Indian country meant goodby to game
and goodby to the Indian. The redskin
realized this as forcibly as the white man,
and he was On hand to fight the progress
of the road. He was foolish enough to
suppose that the killing off of a few scouts
and surveyors would stop all work, and
by the time the road was half way across
the state of Kansas every Indian who had
any patriotism bou him was in front of
it and doing battle. The contractors had
to employ a great many scouts and fight
ers to protect the advance men, and l was
one of those thus engaged. In the five
months of my employment l killed thirty
nine Indians and brought thirty-nine
scalps to camp, and there were other
scouts who did as well, or better. We
did not lose near as many men in proper
ton, as we fought entirely m the de-
f~ensive, and had an the advantage.
My capture occurred one morning in
September. One of the engineers Of the
road had been on a spree, and while verg-
ing on delirium tremens had left camp
and wandered off. He had been gone
two or three hours before he was missed,
and at midnight of a rainy, gusty night
six of us started out on foot to NUM- him
up. As no n knew the direction he
had taken, each of us went his own way.
Thara vuara n1anfu Of Tn1innc nrO11n1 no
and q scout had been wounded that after
noon within half a mile of our camp.
Each man of us who went out took big
chances of being captured, but there was
no hesitating or hanging back on that ac-
count. Our camp was close to the river,
and my first move was to cross the
stream. The water was no more than
waist deep, and l had no trouble in reach
ing the other bank. The engineer, whose
name was Sewell, had gone off in his
shirt and trouser and boots. He was
b~areheaded, out of his senses, and had
no weapons of any sort. My only hope
in finding him was that he would become
exhausted before going far, and sit down.
Once across the stream, l held to the
north for about a mile, and then turned
to the left and kept on until l had de-
scribed a quarter of a circle and come to
the river again. l then went back to
the starting point and bore to the right,
and it was while on my way to the river
that four Indians suddenly rose up from
the grass at my feet N seized me. 1
can't say that 1 was off my guard, but
it did seem a bit queer to me as thought
it over afterward that l should have let
the skunks get such an advantage of me.
l could see fairly well for twenty feet
or more around me, but the fellows
Rugged the earth so closely, and / hap
pened TO walk so straight into the trap,
that / was lone for before l knew what
was going on. Not a yell was uttered
not a word spoken. Two of them tripped
me up, and the other piled on to me and
disarmed me, and in less than a minute
my arms were jerked behind me and
made fast, and away we went to the
northwest on a trot. This was main
tanned for about a mile, when we came
upon a party of fifty mounted redskins,
and in the midst of them l found Sewel.
He was PROSTATE with exhaustion and
fear, and when L spoke to him, which
act the Indians seemed rather to encour-
age, he began crying and sobbing like a
child. l was lifted up behind a warrior
and off he went at a gallop, riding to
the west and keeping close 10 the river
until we had made at least fifteen miles.
Then we came upon an Indian village as
it was growing daylight.
My feelings during that ride were any,
thing but agreeable, / can assure you.
The fact that / was not killed at the mo-
ment of my capture had a significance
which l well understood. was just as
certain to go to the stake for torture as ]
remained a prisoner, and l did a heap OF
thinking in hopes to get a plan for escape,
Mounted behind an Indian, my arms
tied SO tightly that 1 was a constant suf,
ferer, and obliged to keep my balance by
the use of my legs alone, there was nc
earthly show for me to carry out any
scheme. Sewel was mounted on the
horse just ahead OF me, and his conduct
went far to distress and unnerve me. H.
kept up q constant lamentation, inc wa!
continually beseeching me not to let tn,
Indians do him harm. Drink had lost it
effect on him, and to come out of hi
spell and find himself in the hands of tn,
relentless redskins had taken all the plucl
out of him. he was doing the yer,
worst thing he could have done, for
heard the Indians C~loatinp over the pros